"WHY ARE YOU BEING SO MEAN TO ME?"

I had arranged for a motel reservation through an online service which guaranteed a certain price. When we arrived at the motel, the clerk stated that there was no record of that transaction.  I had called the motel earlier in the day to verify our reservation, which indeed had been verified, but the desk clerk denied the price and refused to honor it.  I asked, simply, "Then how did you receive the reservation with my credit card information?"  She answered that I must have given it to them.  I said, "That is a LIE!"

After a contentious colloquy, I demanded to speak to the manager but was informed that the manager was not available.  I continued with an unrelenting diatribe which included my use of the phrases "bait and switch" and "rip-off";   I even invoked the name of William Shatner.

My husband and a friend who was also going to stay at the motel tried to intervene which irritated me even further;  I said testily to them, "I'm fully capable of taking care of this!"  Throughout the entire encounter I never once raised my voice, but communicated through clenched teeth with seething rage.

I told the clerk that because we were exhausted from the trip, I was going to pay the price but that I would be calling the corporation the first thing in the morning and I would certainly be telling her name.  

The clerk asked, plaintively, "Why are you being so mean to me?"

I said, "Mean?  You think this is mean?  I'm merely being assertive!"  

Our friend stated that if he hadn't been there as a witness, he wouldn't have believed the story.  Ever since the episode the friend has uttered the phrase "Why are you being so mean to me?" at least once a week, followed by my saying "I'm merely being assertive!"

The conclusion of the story is that I did call the corporation and as I had the proof which I had downloaded,  I received a refund, although it took nearly a month.

The moral of the story is ALWAYS make a copy!